Storefront for Art and Architecture

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New York

Founded in 1982, Storefront for Art and Architecture is a nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of innovative positions in architecture, art and design. Our program of exhibitions, artists talks, film screenings, conferences and publications is intended to generate dialogue and collaboration across geographic, ideological and disciplinary boundaries. As a public forum for emerging voices, Storefront explores vital issues in art and architecture with the intent of increasing awareness of and interest in contemporary design.

Storefront was founded by Kyong Park as an experimental forum and exhibition space for activating and engaging emerging voices and promoting public discourse around issues effecting, influencing and challenging the built environment.  The organization presented its first program, Performance A-Z on September 18, 1982. The inaugural exhibition included a series of 26 consecutive nights of performances by 26 artists.

Since the launch of inaugural Performance A-Z, Storefront has continued to shape itself as a platform for emerging ideas that lie at the intersection of art and designarchitecture, and for open dialogue and innovative exchange beyond and across borders, backgrounds and ideologies, addressing issues from new technology to the social and political forces that shape the built environment. Throughout its history, the organization has considered critical urban issues such as homelessness, queer culture, public housing, and has responded to social/political movements such as Occupy Wall Street (2011) from a design perspective, while offering emerging artists and architects the opportunity to present new ideas and exhibit innovative work. Over one thousand internationally recognized artists and architects have shown at Storefront, many who  these include Peter Cook, Diller+Scofidio, Tony Feher, Dan Graham, Coop Himmelblau, Alfredo Jaar, Kiki Smith, and Lebbeus Woods, among many others.

Through its unwavering commitment to spatial experimentation and innovation, Storefront remains one of New York’s only alternative platforms focusing primarily on architecture and the built environment.